USS Chimera or USS Puppy?
by Jessie Rose 911
Summary: Remember Ziva's comment on the episode Chimera? What if the monster on the ship were decidedly canine? Tim has a little secret, and it's about to be blown out of the water! Will the team survive the night? need to see episode to understand!
1. HOWL

Tim sighed as he regarded the rainy sky. He was standing at the windows by the bullpen, holding a steaming cup of coffee. Soon. Soon would be the full moon, and he was out of the potion that kept him from turning. Turning into a monster.

Gibbs watched his youngest agent from his desk. Tim was tense, worried, and he wanted to know why. Usually that was his position, standing by the windows with coffee in hand.

Tony looked curiously at Tim, but let him alone. His business.

Ziva was more concerned. She had noticed that this particular mood came every month, followed quickly by exhaustion for a couple of days. Most would've likened these symptoms to PMS, but she knew he was definitely male. Geeky, but male. What happened every month to make him so apprehensive?

Tim continued staring as a nearly full moon finally made its appearance from behind the clouds. His light blue green eyes flashed an eerie silver and he heard the far-off howls of wolves.

(Scene Change/Time Jump)

On bored the CHIMERA, the team left Ducky to his autopsy. They had found two bodies so far, each ripped apart beyond recognition, like a bear or something similar had gotten to them. This was a ridiculous notion, as they were out in the middle of the ocean on a U.S. Naval ship. But Gibbs's gut told him otherwise.

They were in a holding bay, creeping among the crates, when a distant howl made them all come to a standstill. "Damn," Tony swore quietly. His face was white.

"What the hell…" murmured Gibbs. Ziva stayed quiet. Tim remained a statue, and then sniffed the air experimentally. Whatever odor he detected was evidently both alarming and unpleasant. Gibbs raised an eyebrow at him. "What?" he asked. Tim shook his head and was about to say something when his face twisted into a pained expression. He doubled over, grabbing a nearby stair railing for support.

"McGee?" Ziva's concerned question was answered by a growl. Instead of backing away like normal humans, the team stepped forward. They wanted to help him. He wrenched away from them, accidentally taking the railing with him. An earsplitting snap heralded the steel's surrender to McGee's super-human strength. Ziva, Tony, and Gibbs stared at their comrade, while Tim stared at the metal in his hand. Then he looked up at them, fear featured plainly on his face. He dropped the railing, turned, and ran. The rest ran after him, calling his name. Eventually, he lost them.

"Now what?" Tony snapped, sweaty and breathless, leaning on the wall.

"I don't know, Dinozzo, you tell me!" growled Gibbs in return.

"Enough! We won't find him this way." The men quieted at Ziva's words. Just as Gibbs was about to say something, a great howl tore through the air. It wasn't a hunting howl like they had heard earlier, but one whose owner was in incredible pain. This howl was joined by the first hunting howl, which was somehow lower and gravellier. There was two now. The remainder of the team stared at each other, wide eyed.

"We're gonna die…" Tony murmured. He was far from comforted when neither Gibbs nor Ziva corrected him.

They continued to look for Tim, praying the entire time that he was still alive. The periodic howls from both ends of the ship set their nerves on edge. "Oh, Madre Del Dios…" Tony breathed. Gibbs and Ziva were nervous at his abnormal curse. They ran to him, as he was around the corner. Tony stood, staring at a heap of torn clothing. McGee's clothing. Gibbs kneeled, and to their horror, pulled Tim's badge and gun from the pile. Their only comfort was that there was no blood.

They took Tim's clothing with them, and moved on. They were nearing the lab that Ducky was using when a growl sounded very close behind them. They spun around in unison, and then gasped. Ziva began saying a hasty prayer in Hebrew, while Tony, surprisingly, did the same in both English and Spanish. A huge black wolf, as tall as a man while on all fours, with blood red eyes stalked toward them. It was one of the most evil things Gibbs had ever seen.

The monster lunged, but Gibbs was able to scramble back just in time. Shots rang out, but Tony's and Ziva's bullets only seemed to irritate the beast. It shook its head, snarling, and then lunged again at the nearest target: Tony. Tony let out a terrified scream; he was cornered. Just before the snapping jaws met their target, a brown streak pushed the demon wolf away. They demon and its attacker rolled around, fur flying, until they untangled themselves and circled each other. The attacker was also a wolf, with light brown fur and eerie silver eyes. This one was just as tall as the first, but thinner and wirier.

The brown one snapped furiously, and the fight resumed. Despite its tamer appearance, the brown one was a vicious fighter; it eventually managed to bite down on the demon's back leg and hang on for dear life. The first wolf gave an anguished howl. They struggled some more, until the black one gave the brown a vicious kick to the head. The brown let go and the black hightailed it out of the area.

The brown lay down with a doggy sigh, and didn't move. Just to be on the safe side Tony and Gibbs kept their guns trained on the great wolf. Ziva, however, crept closer to it. "Ziva! What the hell are you doing?" Tony stage whispered.

"I'm going to see if the one who saved your ass is alright," she replied, sending him a glare. The brown monster shifted. The humans froze. "Hello, Wolf. May I come closer?" Ziva crooned to the giant. Some would call her crazy, but the beast responded well: it wagged its tail. Ever so slowly, Ziva placed her hand on the massive head. Gibbs and Tony held their breath. The tail wagged harder, and a long red tongue lolled out of the panting mouth. A little whine contradicted the beast's size, and the agents could almost believe that it was tame.

The demon growled from somewhere in the depths of the ship, and the brown wolf sprang in front of Ziva and growled back, obviously protecting her. Silence.

Gibbs decided he didn't hate the overgrown mutt, and cautiously approached it and Ziva. He was surprised when the beast actually leaned into his touch when he patted it behind the ears. Tony came next, murmuring praises as if he were talking to a faithful lapdog. Had they been hit by they frantically wagging tail, they would've been knocked over.

"Come on, let's go check on Ducky," Gibbs said tiredly after a moment. The other two nodded and followed him. They only looked at each other with raised eyebrows when the wolf followed them.

"Ducky! You alright?" Gibbs called into the seemingly deserted lab.

"Fine, Jethro. I'm just running some tests. My, my, who do we have here?" Ducky called from the corner of the lab. His eyes had gone wide at the sight of the team's new companion. "Say, where's Timothy?" He sounded very concerned.

"El Diablo got him," Tony said morosely. He was smacked on the back of the head. Hard. "He was in pain, and grabbed a metal railing for support. When we came closer to see what we could do, he wrenched away from us and took the railing with him. He was so strong, Ducky! No one has enough strength to snap steal! And he did it without thinking. Then he got scared and ran off. We couldn't keep up with him. Later, we found his clothes all ripped up along with his gun and badge. At least there was no blood…" he continued.

Ducky was very worried, to say the least. "What caused the pain, do you know?"

"No. He just doubled over right after we first heard the howling," Ziva explained.

Ducky nodded, frowning. Then he beckoned Gibbs over and started examining the minor injuries he had sustained since he had seen him last. "Tell me what all that growling and snarling was earlier."

Gibbs, Tony, and Ziva told Ducky how the brown wolf had saved their lives from "El Diablo", as Tony had taken to calling the black wolf. As they did this, Ducky tended to Tony and Ziva after Gibbs.

"If that demon," she spat the noun, "has a name, then our friend here must have a name also." Ziva was quite adamant about it. She thought hard. "I got it!" she announced. "He will be called Adir. It means great, mighty, and powerful."

Ducky regarded the brown mass of fur, who was stretched out on the floor between him and Ziva. He knelt down beside the beast and ran his hands through the thick coat, looking for injuries. He found plenty. "A good name, indeed, a very good name," he murmured.


	2. Protecter

**If you haven't seen the episode **_**Chimera**_ **then there is a very good chance that you will not understand what's going on! This is from Tim's/Adir's point of view. Enjoy!**

The hot flashes were coming quicker and hotter. Tim scratched at his collar, hating the feel of it. He was following the rest of the team, searching for clues among the crates in the holding bay, when the howl ripped the air. He froze. The rest did as well. "Damn," Tony swore quietly. His face was white.

"What the hell…" murmured Gibbs. Ziva stayed quiet. Tim remained a statue, and then sniffed the air experimentally. A foreign wolf's spore greeted his senses, and he could tell that it was a fellow were. A were that had let the wolf take over completely. Dear God…

Another hot flash, but this one was searing. He felt as if his insides sizzling, twisting, and generally committing mutiny. He doubled over, gripping a nearby rail to support him.

"McGee?" Ziva's voice was close, to close. She needed to back off. He growled to scare her off. It did the opposite. All three of his companions advanced. He wrenched himself away from them. Didn't they understand? He could hurt them; they needed to stay away from him! SNAP! He regarded the twisted bit of steel in his hand with horror. He looked up, scared at what he would see. Gibbs's face was blank, except for his widened eyes. Tony was openly staring, jaw somewhere around his ankles. Ziva regarded him with renewed interest. Another hot flash, even more intense than the last, ripped through him. The transformation was close. He had to get away! He dropped the damned rail and ran like a man possessed.

He could hear his team scrambling behind him, calling his name and struggling to keep up. Tim ran faster. After many twists and turns he finally lost them. He sank to the ground, breathing heavily. Finally. He was alone. They were safe. One last heat wave exploded in his body, and he let out a scream of pain. Only it wasn't a scream. It was a howl.

Tim the wolf shook off the remainder of his tattered clothing, and limped away. His team would find the clothes. He had another werewolf to hunt down.

The limp faded away as Tim stalked the other wolf. The scent trail wound all over the ship. He would howl from time to time, daring the other to howl back. He did every time. Tim continued to play this demented game of Marko Polo with the murderer, until he started not to answer back. This worried Tim. This meant he was stalking his team. Tim could hurt his friends, but the other wolf would kill them. Tim went faster.

Finally, he came upon the sight of a large black werewolf lunging for Tony's neck. Tim launched himself at the murderer. No one hurt his pack! No one! This vicious protectiveness fueled his attack. He managed to get a hold of the black one's back leg, and he bit down with every bit of strength he had. His adversary let out a pained howl. On the inside, Tim smirked. He wasn't called Timothy "Iron-Jaws" McGee for nothing. Then, out of nowhere, a black foot crashed into the side of his head. The black one got loose and ran off.

Tim lay down heavily, resting his pounding head on his forelegs. Suddenly he could feel every scratch and bruise the other wolf had inflicted. He noticed that Tony and Gibbs kept their guns trained on him. Good, he might not hurt them this way. Ziva crept closer, though. That was dangerous, but Ziva always did like living on the edge.

"Ziva! What the hell are you doing?" he heard Tony stage whisper.

"I'm going to see if the one who saved your ass is alright," she replied. Tim wanted to laugh. That was his Ziva. Wait a minute! His Ziva? "Hello, Wolf. May I come closer?" Ziva crooned to him. Well, he thought, if you put it that way. He wagged his tail. Ever so slowly, Ziva placed her hand on his head. He heard Tony and Gibbs catch their breath. He wagged his tail harder, trying to reassure them. He started panting; it was getting hot in the stairwell they were at. He whined. Could they move?

The demon growled from somewhere in the depths of the ship, and Tim sprang in front of Ziva and growled back, defending her. Silence.

Gibbs cautiously approached him and Ziva. Tim leaned into his boss's friendly pat. Tony came next, murmuring praises as if he were talking to a faithful lapdog. He considered being offended by the senior field agent's tone, but, hey, it was still praise from Tony.

"Come on, let's go check on Ducky," Gibbs said tiredly after a moment. The other two nodded and followed him. Tim hauled his considerable larger body off the floor and followed. The Demon Wolf wouldn't get to his pack with him around.

"Ducky! You alright?" Gibbs called into the seemingly deserted lab.

"Fine, Jethro. I'm just running some tests. My, my, who do we have here?" Ducky called from the corner of the lab. His eyes had gone wide at the sight of the team's new companion. Tim regarded him with amusement. Not much shocked Ducky, and that he had managed it was a major achievement. "Say, where's Timothy?" Ducky sounded very concerned. Tim winced. He hated making people worry.

"El Diablo got him," Tony said morosely. He was smacked on the back of the head. Hard. "He was in pain, and grabbed a metal railing for support. When we came closer to see what we could do, he wrenched away from us and took the railing with him. He was so strong, Ducky! No one has enough strength to snap steal! And he did it without thinking. Then he got scared and ran off. We couldn't keep up with him. Later, we found his clothes all ripped up along with his gun and badge. At least there was no blood…" he continued. Tim hid his head under his paws.

Ducky was very worried, to say the least. "What caused the pain, do you know?"

"No. He just doubled over right after we first heard the howling," Ziva explained.

Ducky nodded, frowning. Then he beckoned Gibbs over and started examining the minor injuries he had sustained since he had seen him last. "Tell me what all that growling and snarling was earlier."

Gibbs, Tony, and Ziva told Ducky how Tim had saved their lives from "El Diablo", as Tony had taken to calling the black wolf. As they did this, Ducky tended to Tony and Ziva after Gibbs.

"If that demon," she spat the noun, "has a name, then our friend here must have a name also." Ziva was quite adamant about it. She thought hard. Tim paled under his fur. If she gave him some fluffy pet name, he might go throw himself overboard. "I got it!" she announced. "He will be called Adir. It means great, mighty, and powerful." Tim perked his ears. That was a good name, he liked it. He could always refer to his wolf side as Adir now.

Ducky regarded Adir, who was had decided to stretch out on the floor between him and Ziva. He knelt down beside him and ran his hands through his thick coat, looking for injuries. He found plenty. "A good name, indeed, a very good name," he murmured. Adir was glad that Ducky approved. He gave an audible sigh as his wounds were tended to. He could focus better now.


	3. Tim!

**WOW! Third chapter written today! I'm pretty impressed with myself. Enjoy!**

"Tony, Ziva, come with me. Ducky's got the brute to look after him. We gotta find McGee," Gibbs growled. Adir drew away from Ducky's gentle hand and situated himself in front of the door. Weighing eight hundred pounds had its advantages; all four of them combined couldn't budge him if he didn't want to be budged. "Outta the way, mutt," Gibbs said, nudging Adir with his foot. Adir set his massive paw, which was as big as Gibbs's head, on the foot that had nudged him. Gibbs had some difficulty shaking the weight off without falling over.

Ziva stifled a chuckle and then came forward to try her luck. "Come, Adir, we have to find our friend. We can handle El Diablo." Her reassurances fell on deaf ears. Adir stayed firmly in place.

Adir found Tony's pack lying beside him; it was the pack with his clothes, badge, and gun were in. Delicately, he picked the pack up in his mouth and deposited it between his front paws. He was working on getting the zipper open when Tony's hand and arm came into view, trying to get the bag back. Adir was displeased. No one should stick their hand in front of a werewolf's muzzle without warning. Gently, but quickly, Adir caught Tony's wrist in his jaws. He did not bite hard enough to break the skin, but he sent a clear message. When Tony reeled back, Adir went back to the zipper. Damn zipper.

Finally, it was open. He turned the bag over, depositing all of Tony's possessions, plus his own. He fished around, pushing stuff around with his nose, before he finally found it: his badge. Pushing everything else aside with one swipe of a paw, he gently held his badge in his mouth, facing out so the other agents could see. He sat at attention: tail up, front paws shoulder width apart, ears perked, chest puffed out. After words he didn't move a muscle.

Gibbs was very confused. Tony was a little scared. Ziva and Ducky were thoughtful. Duck stepped forward. "Tim, dear boy, is that you?" the old M.D. asked. Adir did something very human: he nodded. Ziva gasped, Gibbs gaped, and Tony fainted.

"Duck, how'd you know?" Gibbs demanded, regarding the werewolf with suspicion.

Ducky smiled serenely. "He's very protective of you, is very intelligent, and honestly, Jethro, the salute was a dead give-away! Plus wolves just don't get that big, the only logical explanation is that Tim's a werewolf." Gibbs wanted to head slap himself. But he was somewhat disappointed in Tim. Yes, this was a HUGE secret, but the fact that Tim didn't trust them with it rubbed him the wrong way.

Ziva chuckled to herself. Tim, the shyest, sweetest member of the team, was the huge, scary-as-hell monster; oh, the irony! She reached inside her pack and dug out a chain. It was the type that often had dog tags strung on them, found around the necks of soldiers. "I knew I'd find a use for this somewhere…" she muttered. She held her hand out to McGee/Adir. "May I see your badge, McGee?" He gave a muffled woof and deposited the badge in her hand. She wrinkled her nose the slightest bit. Werewolf slobber. She strung the badge on, and then slipped it over Adir's head. Adir resumed his salute stance, showing off his badge. Gibbs couldn't help but grin.

About then, Tony came back around. He stared at Adir a bit, then thundered, "PROBIE BIT ME?" The whole room broke up laughing, even Adir barked in a laugh-like manner. Then everyone sobered and regarded the werewolf inquiringly. He stood and nudged Ziva's hand so she held it out in front of her. He then stepped close, almost pressing his nose to her palm, before shaking his head vigorously. Then he stepped back, leaning away from her. He nodded with finality.

Gibbs cocked his head to the side and demanded, "Do that again." Adir did it again. Gibbs sighed, "Of course!" He turned to Tony. "Evidently, it's a bad idea to stick your hand in front of a werewolf's mouth, Dinozzo. Who woulda thought?" He smirked. They couldn't tell, but Adir smirked too. Finally, one up on Dinozzo!

Suddenly a strange scratching noise reached Adir's ears. He perked up, and went closer to the wall opposite him, where the sound was coming from. His team/pack watched him curiously. Adir listened for a moment, trying to figure it out. Then his eyes got wide. He rushed back to the mess he made out of Tony's pack and tried to hastily repack it. The lack of opposable thumbs hindered him. Tony got the idea though, and picked up the slack.

"McGee? What is going on?" Ziva was, once again, concerned for her friend. He tugged her pant leg and motioned with his head to follow him. He led her to the wall and made a show of pressing his ear to the wall. She copied him and listened intently. Her eyes went wide. "Diablo's on the other side of the wall," she told the others, "He will get in here soon."

"You sure?" Tony was skeptical.

"Remember when McGee ripped the steel rail while in human form?"

"Oh, yeah… We're dead."

Adir came up behind the morbid agent, reared back onto his hind legs, and gently tapped the back of Tony's head with the pad of his right front paw. The other three couldn't help but grin, while Tony scowled at his teammate-turned-furry.

**HAS BEEN ADOPTED BY WHITEKINGDOMANGEL! Please show her the same support you have shown me. Thank you.~Jessie Rose**


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